Apollo 11 Mission

The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission crew, pictured from left to right, Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. Image created on April 30, 1969. (NASA)

Neil Armstrong reviews flight plans. Image uploaded by NASA on May 12, 2005. (NASA)

The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifts off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., at 9:32 a.m. EDT July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. Image created on July 15, 1969. (NASA)

The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle climbs toward orbit after liftoff from Pad 39A at 9:32 a.m. EDT. In 2 1/2 minutes of powered flight, the S-IC booster lifts the vehicle to an altitude of about 39 miles some 55 miles downrange. This photo was taken with a 70mm telescopic camera mounted in an Air Force EC-135N plane. Onboard are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. Image created on July 15, 1969. (NASA)

Earth as seen by Apollo 11 astronauts at the beginning of the third day of TLC. Image created on Dec. 31, 1968. (NASA)

Neil Armstrong works at the LM in the only photo taken of him on the moon from the surface. NASA photo as11-40-5886. This is a cropped photo. Uploaded by NASA on Jan. 22, 2011. (NASA)

Astronaut Edwin E. ‘Buzz’ Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the moon. He has just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP). In the foreground is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP); beyond it is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR-3); in the center background is the United States flag; in the left background is the black and white lunar surface television camera; in the far right background is the Lunar Module ‘Eagle.’ Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. Image created on July 19, 1969. (NASA)

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin salutes the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module (LM) is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the moon. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong took this picture with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. Image created on July 19, 1969. (NASA)

Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin during the lunar landing mission. Image created on July 19, 1969. (NASA)

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong poses for a photo inside the Lunar Module Eagle after the first trip on moon. Image created on July 19, 1969. (NASA)

Apollo 11 plaque closeup on moon. Image uploaded by NASA on July 15, 2010. (NASA)

Buzz Aldrin removing the passive seismometer from a compartment in the SEQ bay of the Lunar Lander. Image created on 20 July 20, 1969. (NASA)

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, stands on the surface of the moon near the leg of the lunar module, Eagle, during the Apollo 11 moonwalk. Astronaut Neil Armstrong, mission commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. While Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the lunar module to explore the Sea of Tranquility, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained in lunar orbit with the Command and Service Module, Columbia. This is the actual photograph as exposed on the moon by Armstrong. He held the camera slightly rotated so that the camera frame did not include the top of Aldrin’s portable life support system (“backpack”). A communications antenna mounted on top of the backpack is also cut off in this picture. When the image was released to the public, it was rotated clockwise to restore the astronaut to vertical for a more harmonious composition, and a black area was added above his head to recreate the missing black lunar “sky.” The edited version is the one most commonly reproduced and known to the public, but the original version, above, is the authentic exposure. A full explanation with illustrations can be seen at the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Image created on July 20, 1969. (NASA)